Corset.



R. MERKIN.

CORSET.

APPLIGATION FILED MAn.9,191o.

Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 14 6 flot lill l\| B.. MERKIN.

CGRSET.

APPLIGATION FILED MMM), 1910.

Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z s .Y i 1,012,406.

To o1! whom it may concern:

Be it-known that I, 'Boss Mmmm, a citizei'i of' the United States'l and resident of Boston, in the county of uolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Corsets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention re ates to corsets., .and its objects are to rovide a novel and improved construction o corset wherein the stays are remove-ble, to provide novel end impr'ove abdominal straps, andto provide in a single garment a combined corset and bust s upporter of novel and improvedconstructron. These and other features of the invention will'be 'hereinafter more specifically pointed out.

i'ilustratefthe invention,-Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a corset containmy invention; Fig. .2 is a similar view of the lower art of the garment showing the abdomina straps unfastened and open; Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view, enlarged, on line 3-3 of Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a detail front view of the lower part of one of the front edgesof the corset body; Fig. 5 is a detail front view of a part of the corset v body near the upper edge showing the construction of the upper part of one of the stay sheaths; Fig. 6 is a cross section on line -of Fig. 5; Fi is -a longitudinal section on line 7-7 o Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a front view of the upper end of one `of the removable stays; Fig. 9 is .-a similar view to that shown in Fig. 5,-but showing a modification thereof; Fig. 10 is a vertical section on lir'ie l0-10 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a 1an view of the lpiece used to 'form a reinorced pocket as hereinafter described; Fig.'

12 is a front view, enlargd, of the .upper front corners of the body alves of the corset; and Fig. 13 is a cross section' on line ie-ia of Fig. 12.

Referring to the drawings, A thejbod of the corset consistin bod ha ves of suitable fabric'lace to ether at t e back as usual. In order that a the steels or stays and the metal fasteners may be readily removed, for the purpose of laundrying the corset, or to replace broken stays and thatthey may .as readily 'be inserted Vagain in the corset, a number of stay sheaths are formed by stitching va strip of represents lleotoltiou i# Letters Istant. ippiimion mea 4'irma n, mo. amai im. usata.

d that a pocket is .In 4theaocoinpanying drawings which Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

fabric a at its edges, to the fabric for the -body of the corset, by the lines-fn stitches a'. 'Thus a tubular or hollow channel or sheath is provided closed at its bottom by the line of stitches a, and at 'its top by a top line of stitches as or b a reinforcement hereinafter described. n the front iside of each sheath so formed is a bittonhole, slot or aperture, a, near, buta short .distance below, the top of the sheath, so y left above each a erture a* Yto receive and "hold the .u per en movable stay. In order of the upper. 'ends of the stays breaking through, ine each pocket at the top of the sheath, Ia strip of suitable fabric'ja one en which is sewed to the upper edge of the aperture a, whence the reinforcement cxtends u ward long the front side of the sheath ar enough to forma pocket lining of sufficient dept thence it is folded backward on itself at a, and thence it extends downward along the back side of the sheath and terminates at a point a' considerably below the aperture a, so that the edge a' of the reinforcement cannot possibly catch the end of the.stay. The

forcement a are sewed into the sheath by the same line of stitches a sides of the sheath. In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 7 the front edge -of the reinforcement `terminates at the edge of the Vsperi-.ure a* and is secured. thereto b the same button-hole stitches which finis the `edge of the aperture. In the modification .shown in Figs. 9 and 10 `ie-f5nt end of the reinforcement is extended to form a tab as which overlies and closes the aperture a. B, B, re resent stays, made of steel or other suitev le material, adapted to sli fthrou h -the a ertures a. The stays B, Ii) are o a 'len not exceeding the length of *the sheath rom the bottom 4thereof to said apertures a. 'flhus, to insert the stays, they :may be siipped downward through the apertures a* until the upper ends ass throug'lei said apertures. Thereafter t e may pushed u ward until the top en s b of the stays are edged within the reinforced pocks of the sheaths. The stays ets at the top will naturally remain in this position when since their tendthe corset is being worn, lency is to work upward. As additional seof a re' prevent danger with a reinforcement, consisting ofof sides of the 'rein which close the curity however, a se arable snap fastener may be used, the stu member b being secured to the stay B, and the socket member b being secured to the inner side of the pocket lining formed by the strip a. About midway of the length of the sheaths a second slot or aperturea is formed in the face of the sheath, through which a stay may be drawn out if it becomes broken. Stays are most frequently broken at about the waist line, and the broken end is usuall ragged and bent so that it would be di cult to draw'it throu h the whole length of the sheath to the ho e a.- The middle hole a is then used.

The construction of the stays and sheaths thus far described is applicable to the sides and back of the corset.

Referring now tothe front stays and the sheaths therefor, one of the front meeting edges of the corset body, the left hand ed e as viewed in the drawings, isfolded bac ward on itself and stitched to the body fabric by a line of stitches a to form a wide channel or sheath c (see particularl Figs. 3, 12 and 13). A. slot or aperture c is made in the face of the sheath c, near, but a short distance below the top of the sheath. At the extreme ed of said'front sheath are a number of s ots or 4. apertures c for the fasteners of the front lurality of stud holes c? are also provided t rough the face of the sheath near the edges thereof. The removable front stay contained within the sheath c consists of the body part D having secured thereto at intervals the fastening loops d. The sheath c is made at least as wide as the combined width of the stay D and the fastening loo s d, as is also the aperture c', so that the ont stay with its fasteners may be slipped into the front sheath through aperture c' until the loo s d come opposite the edge slots c. T e front stay is then moved to the outer side of thesheath, the loops d projecting through the slots c2, and studs d', mounted on stay D, are buttoned through the stud holes c, to hold the stay in position. When the stay is to be removed the studs d are withdrawn from the stud holes, and the stay D moved across the sheath until the loops d are drawn into the sheath, whereupon thestay maybe slipped lengthwise outward tlirou h slot c. The opposed front edge of t e corset bodyl is similarly provided with an edge sheat e made by stitching down a folded ortion of the material at a', and is provi ed with a similar aperture e near the top, and similar stud holes e. The stay E is made with studs e for engaging the stud holes e, and studs e for engaging the fastenerloops d of the olpposite sta The fastening studs e* pass rough e e ets e in the face of the sheath e.

Secure to either side of the lower front portion of the corset body, at points removed from the meeting edges, are elastic straps F and F which ma be adjustably fastened together by a buck e f. Said elastic straps are secured to the body only at their remote ends, and are free and disconnected betl at their meeting ends and throughout practically their Whole length, thus affording great latitude of adjustment. A hook or other suitable holder f2 is secured to the body of the corset to hold the straps F and F down in inclined position when the straps are fastened together. Said strapsv are adapted to support and compress the abdomen.

G, G, represent a air of dia onal flaps secured to the lower ron't part o the corset bod at the outer sides of the elastic stra s F, F. Said fla s overlie and cover said elastic straps, an are made with elongated downwardly extending ends g ada ted to carry hose supporters. Said flaps cross each other as shown in Fi 1 and when the hose supporters are attac ed to the ends g, with the right hand hose supporter'carried by the left hand iiap and vice versa, the tension exerted thereby tends not only to draw the flaps downward, but also across each other toward the center of the corset. Thus the attening and compressing function pe by the a s will be more perfect than with devices eretofore designated. Said flaps are fastened together by snap fastener members g', g', secured to the area where the flaps cross each other; and each Hap is also fastened directly to the o posite body section of the corset by t e snap fasteners g2 and gs respectively.

Above the stiffened or reinforced body part of the corset, each body section is provided with an unstiened, ilexible tab H extending upward from the front edge of the ,body section. The opposed edges h of lthe two tabs are spaced apart, as shown,

when the stiifened body sections of the corset are fastened,.so that a wide range of adjustment is permitted when the lacin L are laced through the eyelets li. A tie or ribbon R may be employed if desired at the upper parts of each tab H. Each tab H is separably and ad'ustably connected with theupper edge of t e rear of the corset body, by a strap h2 which passes over the shoulder. Said straps are adjustable in length by buckles Thus there is combined in one garment a corset reinforced by stays, and an unstiii'ened, adjustable, bust 'sup orter, making it possible to dispense with) the necessity of Wearing an additional waist or bust supporter over the corset. Furthermore, the bust supporter and the straps tend to hold the upper edges of the stiil'ened body, at both front and back, close to the bod thus preventing the ends of the stays rom springing outward, especi- 55 same stitches which close all when the body of the wearer is bent, an showing through even the outer garments', vlis'zis ueutly` the case with ordinary corsets. v his tendency of the stiffened part of the body to spring outward and show throu h the waist is particularly conspicuous at e upper ends of the front stay of a corset, but is wholly avoided in my corset by the lacings L which lead from '10 the upper front corners of the stened parts of the corset adjacent to the upper ends of the front stays I), E, and draw the ends of said stays inward toward the body of the wearer when the lacingsV are laced through the eyelets h of the bust sup orter portions ,I-I, thus insuring a welltting, curved line, instead of an abrupt angle, at the oint where the front stays terminate.

It will also be observed that the unstiiened bust supporter portions, H, and the shoulder straps h, are made integral, each with its own body section, thus rendering the garment free from the disadvantages of seams, "and much more durable than it 26 would be if said parts were made of separate pieces of material and stitched to the body sections. I claim: 1. In a corset, a number of stay 'sheaths 30 closed at both ends, each providedfwith an aperture located in -the side of the sheath near, but a short distance below, the top of the sheath, forminga pocket for the upper end of the stay above the aperture, a reinforcement lining said pocket extending from the up er edge of said aperture upward along t e front side of the sheath and thence downward on the op osite side of said sheath to a point below sai a erture, and a removable stayin each such s eath adapted to pass through said aperture, said stay being of a length not exceeding the length of the sheath from the bottom thereof to said aperture.

2. In a corset, a stay sheath closed at both ends, formed by stitching two or more plies of material together, said sheath provided with an a erture or slot located in the side of the sheat near, but a short distance below, the top of the sheath, forming a pocket for the up er end of the stay above the aperture, a rein orcement lining said pocket, consisting of a piece of suitable material the sides of which are stitched into the sheath by the the sides of the sheath, one end-of which is secured to the upper edgle of the a erture by the same stitches w ich are use to iinish said edge of the aperture, and the other end of which ex- 30 tends downward to a point below the aperture, and a removable stay in said sheath.

3. In a corset, a number of stay sheaths closed at both ends, each rovided with an aperture located in the slde of the sheath 05 near, but a short distance below, the top of the sheath, forming a pocket for the upper end of the stay above the aperture, a remorcement lining said pocket extending from the up er edge of said a erture upward along t e front side of the s eath and thence downward on the opposite side of said sheath to a point below said aperture, a removable stay in each such sheath adapted to pass through said aperture, each stay being of a length not exceedin the length of its sheath from the bottom tiereof to said aperture, and a flap extending from the upper edge of the aperture and covering the same, said 4iiap consisting of an extension of said reinforcement.

4. In a corset, a front stay sheath at one of the front edges of the corset, said sheath having a number of edge apertures through its extreme edge, a face aperture through lts side at or near the top, and studholes, and a removable front stay therein provided with fastenin members projecting laterally through the ege apertures, and studs adapte sald stud holes to hold the stay 1n cplace, t e width of said sheath and the wi th of said face aperture each bein at least as great as the combined width o the lfgront stay and its projecting fastening memers.

-5. In a corset, body section, a pair of angular shaped flaps G each comprismg a diagonal portion and downwardly depending hose supporter portion, said {iaps secure one to each side of the lower front portion of the corset body, at a point removed from the meeting edges of the corset body, said iaps adapted to cross each other and each to overlie the opposite body section of the corset, means se arably to attach the underlying iap to the opposite body section, and means separably to attach the overlying flap to its opposite bodyJ section at a point beyond the un erlying section.

A combined corset and bust sup orter, comprising two body sections each iiaving its lower part reinforced and stiened by stays, and an upwardly extending unstiffened bust supporter part formed integrally of the same plece of material with the lower part, the opposed edges of the bust supporter parts of the two sections being spaced apart and provided with eyelets, lacings leadln from the upper front corners of the stiiene parts of the corset sections adjacent to the upper ends of the front stays adapted to engage with said eyelets both to draw said bust supporter arts together and to hold the upper ends o said stays inward, and a strap connectin the top of each bust supporter part with t e upper edge of the rear of the body section.

7. A combined corset and bust sup orter, com rising two body sections each aving its ower part reinforced and stiiened by ed to enga in combination with the fened bust sup porter part formed integrally of the same piece of material with the part, the opposed edges of the bust su 5 parts of the two sections being space and provided with eyelets,

a strap connecting the top lacings adjustabiy to connect sald bust supporter parts, and

of each bust supporter art with the upper edge of the rear of the ody section.

ower porter fourth day of March, 1910.

apart ROSE MERKIN.

Witnesses:

ROBERT CUSENNAN, CHAnLEs` D. WoooEnnY.

10 Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this 

